Sector Update: Healthcare Stocks Advance Thursday Afternoon

01:44 PM EDT, 10/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Healthcare stocks rose Thursday afternoon, with the NYSE Healthcare Index adding 1.3% and the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) gaining 1%. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) fell 1.5%. In corporate news, Moderna (MRNA) and Merck (MRK) shares fell 24.5% and 1.1%, respectively, after reports emerged about a possible leak of data on the companies' highly anticipated personalized melanoma vaccine, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing unverified sources on X. Qiagen (QGEN) shares rose 0.6% after the company said it agreed to be acquired by EQT Private Equity for 46.50 euros ($52.26) a share in cash, valuing the company at about 10.8 billion euros including debt. United Therapeutics (UTHR) shares gained 4.8% after the company's board authorized a new $2 billion stock buyback program, available through Oct. 21, 2027.